The Curator
in San Diego
Member
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Posted: Thu Feb 17, 2005 | 02:59 PM
While I dislike the fact that Starbucks feels the need to open a franchise on every block, I can't bring myself to transfer this dislike to their coffee, which I've always enjoyed. However, their selection of food truly does suck. |
X
in McKinney, TX
Member
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Posted: Thu Feb 17, 2005 | 03:09 PM
I believe that this is a "Wiccan" owned company, (Thus having a picture of the "Goddess" as the logo, as well as a few other hints, and I find it funny that some of those really large churches, the kind that televised, actually started putting "Starbucks" in thier food courts.
If someone believes my comment is incorrect about the "Wiccan owned" statement, please let me know if you have the correct answer about the origins. |
JoeSixpack
Member
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Posted: Thu Feb 17, 2005 | 03:22 PM
Stephen, since all of the wiccans that I've met weren't together enough to hold a steady job, I would be very surprised if they were able to create a multinational corp. with the size and success of Starbucks. This sounds like the "Proctor & Gamble are satanists" urban ledgend started by some Amway losers back in the 80's. You're not, by any chance, a shill for some MLM, are you? |
X
in McKinney, TX
Member
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Posted: Thu Feb 17, 2005 | 03:28 PM
LoL; I hope not....I almost got sucked into that stuff back in the middle 90's. But also, there are different Denominations of Wicca, but you are right, alot of them do have trouble holding it together. My best friends mom is a 3rd generation witch, and she is a bit on the tipsy side. |
Captain Al
in Vancouver Island, Canada
Member
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Posted: Thu Feb 17, 2005 | 04:18 PM
If this guy doesn't like their product, he should take his business somewhere else. Obviously, the majority of people disagree with him or Starbucks wouldn't be so successful. And if coffee bean pickers were paid $20 an hour, he wouldn't be able to afford a cup of coffee.
That's not to say these people should not be paid more. It's just that competition forces producers to cut costs anyplace they can and unfortunately those workers are the easiest targets for those cuts.
And what is "Fair Trade" coffee? Does that mean they pay $1.50 a day instead of $1? Next time he takes a sip of the competition's brew, he should remember he is still contributing to what he calls slavery. |
Sharruma
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Posted: Thu Feb 17, 2005 | 08:25 PM
Personally I have nothing against Starbucks Per se.
However I hate the stink of coffee and the area around a Starbuck is always thick with the stench
This isn't too bad except when they insist on opening them inside supermarkets, especially ones which would otherwise be very convienient for me to use.
This is a personal dislike and I certainly wouldn't start a web page of a petition about it? How would you hold a petition to stop coffee stinking? Hell, even the coffee aisle in those same supermarkets, as well as supermarkets that don't have a Starbucks outlet, stink to high heaven and are places I viguorously avoid. |
Captain Al
in Vancouver Island, Canada
Member
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Posted: Thu Feb 17, 2005 | 10:16 PM
I hear you Sharruma. The smell of coffee in a restaurant at breakfast time just about knocks me out. And I walk through the coffee section in the supermarket very quickly. Two things I'm thankful for when I was young: I didn't get addicted to nicotine or caffeine. |
Lydie
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Posted: Thu Feb 17, 2005 | 11:46 PM
I think the people who started Starbucks are Jewish...and the logo isn't the Goddess, it's a siren (to lure you into the store with coffee stink?). I have to mention, though, that I luuurve the coffee stink...sorry, I'm from Seattle and I can't function without my daily six-shot venti hazelnut latte (non-fat, extra foam). |
Mark-N-Jen
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Posted: Fri Feb 18, 2005 | 10:34 AM
Seems to me like he's probably a disgruntled former employee or something of that nature. I did post on his site though what I heard about Starbucks and them charging EMT's and paramedics for bottled water to treat patients in the aftermath of 9/11. ($130) Like most things we skeptics hear I was slow to believe but just a little research at http://www.snopes.com and elsewhere seemed to prove it true. Based on that fact we did indeed quit patronizing Starbucks but that wasn't hard to do since a local coffee shop recently opened. |
super_sharp_shooter
Member
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Posted: Fri Feb 18, 2005 | 01:51 PM
OK, I don't really give a flying fook about whether or not you choose to drink in starbucks, personally i think their coffee is disgusting, but that's just, like, my opinion man.
HOWEVER,
I take exception to your comment, Captain Al, "And what is "Fair Trade" coffee? Does that mean they pay $1.50 a day instead of $1? Next time he takes a sip of the competition's brew, he should remember he is still contributing to what he calls slavery."
FairTrade prevents manufacturers in developing countries getting screwed over completely by corporations such as nestle. These corporations - in their never ending quest to pump up their profits and keep prices competitively low for the western market - force coffee manufacturers to accept ludicrously low prices for the goods they deal in; often little more than the coffee has cost the manufacturer to produce. The result? The manufacturer gets screwed, effectively receiving insufficient money for his work to keep his family from starvation. Fairtrade guarantees that the manufacturer will have received a FAIR (geddit?) price for their product, allowing them to live their lives by decent standards.
Can't say fairer than that, surely? |
Captain Al
in Vancouver Island, Canada
Member
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Posted: Fri Feb 18, 2005 | 11:56 PM
The price of coffee, like all comodities, is controlled by the simple laws of supply and demand. If demand exceeds supply, the price goes up and vise versa. The only way someone could force you to sell at a certain price is if they were the only buyer. It would be quite a conspiracy if every coffee buying corporation on earth got together and agreed on a maximum price they would pay.
My comments assumed that most coffee producers are wealthy land owners who hire workers (a.k.a. slaves) to harvest their crop (someone please correct me if I'm wrong on this). If the price of coffee suddenly increased, I don't think they would feel obligated to pass some of the increased earnings on to the workers. Now there may also be small operations run by a single family. However they would probably be forced to sell to middlemen since they do not produce enough to make deals with major buyers. I doubt if they would treat the little guy any better. So to me, it seems the little guy is still the one who needs help, not the middlemen.
Assuming that somehow this Fair Trade thing does help the poor worker trying to feed his family, then why does this guy acts like Starbucks are the only ones not actively promoting Fair Trade product. (And our hero doesn't say how much of that product he buys.) Instead of harrassing Starbucks, he should be going after consumers to demand all coffee is Fair Trade. Starbucks is just an easy target.
We western consumers like to shake our fists in the air and demand things like Fair Trade coffee and Dolphin Friendly tuna because it makes us feel we are doing something positive. Then we sneak out and buy the other stuff because it's cheaper. |
Myst
Member
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Posted: Sat Feb 19, 2005 | 11:05 PM
I am like Lydie, I must...have...coffee. I do not function until I have had a minimum of 2 pots of coffee in the morning. |
Maegan
in Tampa, FL - USA
Member
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Posted: Sun Feb 20, 2005 | 05:50 AM
...I also hate Starsucks. Their coffee tastes like their beans have been burned. I mean, when they're roasting those hundreds of beans at a time...more than one is likely to get burned. I know they say it's supposed to be this way...but my mom used to say we were having "cajun" dinner. (It was blackened!) Their food is lacking in flavor & originality. Ooohh...an 800 calore bran muffin? Yum. I have, on occasion, enjoyed a cold drink from them...but I'd rather stick to Dunkin' Donuts for my hot chocolate. I'll go to the local gas station for coffee (it's really not that bad), and I prefer a good sundried tomato bagel (again, Dunkin' Donuts) to their rich, sugary 8lb brownies.
Eerily enough, I recently posted my own "I Hate Starsucks" thread on another message board. Most people sympathized with my plight. |
X
in McKinney, TX
Member
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Posted: Mon Feb 21, 2005 | 08:18 AM
Thats why I love Starbucks, it some strong stuff, I like the so called "burnt" flavor, as you described it. Allthough the coffe is a little pricey, there is just something about it. I just got addicted to it from being in car sales couple of years ago. Sales manager would allways get a few therm's from there, it was a god send on a Saturday. |
Maegan
in Tampa, FL - USA
Member
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Posted: Mon Feb 21, 2005 | 09:15 AM
I dunno...I have tasted strong coffee...and it tasted good. It didn't have the 'burn' aftertaste that Starsucks has. I had a friend from Kona get her family to ship her some beans, the way she made it...it had a very strong flavor...no yucky aftertaste. |
X
in McKinney, TX
Member
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Posted: Mon Feb 21, 2005 | 09:22 AM
Italian roast, baby.....good stuff. Anyway. I am bored talking about coffee. By the way, visit http://www.oddtodd.com for coffee stuff. Thats another site I enjoy. Second to this. |
helen
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Posted: Mon Feb 21, 2005 | 01:32 PM
Hey, Captain Al, congratulations on thinking carefully and skeptically. Nevertheless, I think in fact you're wrong - there's a lot to be said for fair trade coffee, and it would be a shame if people used your reasoning from limited info to carry on buying coffee that promotes poverty. You'll find more on why fair trade is wortht the extra money at:
http://www.maketradefair.com/en/index.php?file=16092002163229.htm |
Captain Al
in Vancouver Island, Canada
Member
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Posted: Sat Feb 26, 2005 | 09:02 PM
Helen, thanks for the link on Fair Trade coffee. I learned a lot about what they are trying to do. These people mean well, but the parts I read sound like socialist idealism. You can't just say, "Ok, lets have everyone in the world be nice to each other and the world will be a happy place". It only takes a few people to take advantage of the situation and screw up the whole process. No company or organization will put themselves at a disadvantage when their competition is getting the goods at a better price.
As I thought, the low market price for coffee came about because supply has exceeded demand. To artificially prop up the price is just putting the farmers on welfare. I don't thing the buying public is willing to do this for very long. They have a short attention span.
The only solution is for those country's governments to help switch the farmers over to a new crop that has better market potential. They obviously can't afford to do this on their own. We have tried farm subsidies in North America and it doesn't work. Those same subsidies plus import tarrifs put Third World farmers at an even greater disadvantage. In the long run a free market system is the only realistic way to go. Then no one has to subsidise uncompetitive operations. |
Nicholas
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Posted: Sun Feb 27, 2005 | 07:22 PM
I think it is bullshit that they charge $5 for water strained through burnt beans. I love coffee, but coffee is coffee. Get some from your local grocer and drink it. I believe that most of the people in this world are lazy and shortsighted, hence, they'll go to starbucks (or any place) and pay through the nose for an idea. It reminds me of CDs and the music industry. I say buy cheap! Coffee, cars, life in general... I don't need the pomp. If you guys want free music here it is...
http://www.soundclick.com/bands/7/roae.htm
Thanks for listening,
ro |
Boo
in The Land of the Haggii...
Member
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Posted: Mon Feb 28, 2005 | 02:49 AM
Ye-e-e-e-e-es...
I don't drink coffee. Doesn't bother me.
I just bring milk and teabags into work.
I don't see the point of paying |
Maegan
in Tampa, FL - USA
Member
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Posted: Mon Feb 28, 2005 | 07:00 AM
Nicholas' post sort of reminds me of the chewing gum guy from Clerks. Smoking is bad! Have some gum. |
Ray
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Posted: Tue May 10, 2005 | 08:34 PM
Maegan is absolutely right, Nicholas is truly the Chewlies gum guy who whips out lungs on the store counter so cigarette buyers will get grossed out about lung cancer. Maybe people can locate illustrations of stressed out central nervous systems due to the high caffeine prices at Starbucks. Kind of like Masaru Emoto did with frozen water research. You have these righteous yuppie wannabes who have no compunction whatsoever about paying $4 for a cup of coffee, but wouldn't dream of helping the millions who die every year from poverty or starvation. I'm sure Captain Al in his capitalist manifesto would explain away how this is economically advantageous to all parties concerned. |
um....
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Posted: Sat Oct 08, 2005 | 01:45 PM
Starbucks doesn't charge $5 for coffee, idiot. $1.80 for the venti. |
Tracey
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Posted: Sun Nov 06, 2005 | 01:39 PM
funny all the Wiccans i know have Jobs and are very educated I'm a Dainic Wiccan with a Masters in Micro Biology and make over 180,000 a year myself |
Hate List
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Posted: Fri Nov 25, 2005 | 02:27 PM
<a href="http://gohate.com/_view/part_directory/section_S/id_10">I hate Starbucks</a> |
Jimmy Sticher
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Posted: Tue Jan 03, 2006 | 12:11 PM
who are these maroons?? Drink coffee or dont drink coffee.What you going to try to blame witches for the smell of coffee? Get a life. |
Lindsay
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Posted: Wed Jan 11, 2006 | 11:27 AM
I think that starbucks is the best thing scince sliced bread maybe even before sliced bread. Starbucks Rox. this guy is nuts |
Me
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Posted: Mon Jan 30, 2006 | 04:28 AM
even ebay sellers dont like starbucks and there just as bad for using ebay... lol
<a href="http://http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/STARBUCKS-SATIRE-novelty-button-badge-pin_W0QQitemZ6248983463QQcategoryZ60608QQtcZphotoQQcmdZViewItem">Starbucks satire funny - on ebay</a> |
Bad Barista
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Posted: Sat Feb 11, 2006 | 09:27 AM
Trust me peeps, when you and the rest of the "cappuccino generation" come bouncing in, convinced everyone actually cares that you have soy milk, what you ask for and what you get are usually two very different things.
Decaf - Maybe, depends what mood I'm in
Half-Caff - You have got more chance of getting shit out of a rocking horse than you have getting a half-caff latte.
Soya Milk - No way around that. Well not yet anyway...
Frapuccino Light - You will get the contents of whichever jug comes out of the fridge first, be it the light or the calorie ridden slop. It really does not matter, you muppets cannot tell the difference anyway!
Skinny - If we are quiet and your polite, probably. If theres more than five customers in the queue, forget about it.
Semi-skimmed - Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha!
While some of you may feel betrayed, maybe slightly lost that your daily staple is not quite what you asked for, take comfort from the fact that your white take out cup is still daubed with all the 21st century hieroglyphics that you try to impress everyone with. Your social standing remains intact and if your honest, that whats really important.
"I am going to have a half-shot, half-caff, semi-skimmed, Mocha with a little cream."
"Are you? Are the pigs watered and ready to fly?" |
Brent
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Posted: Tue Jun 27, 2006 | 10:14 AM
A friend of mine once jokingly referred to my Starbuck's Double Shot as liquid crack; I may seem stupid for saying this, but now, I'm not sure he was joking. I've had limited experience with various stimulants (legal and otherwise), and I'm beginning to consider whether there isn't more than just caffeine in these Double Shots I've become so fond of. I'm not at all suggesting that I think there most definitely IS something in my coffee; I'm just starting to wonder if anyone with the capacity has ever actually checked to see what's in it. I sincerely hope there isn't, as I would likely lose access to my favorite pick-me-up. Does anyone know if tests have been done? |
KEN
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Posted: Fri Aug 04, 2006 | 02:58 AM
Starbucks is jewish! They actualy tried to sack someone who was wiccan for wearing a pentagram, maybe the storys got mixed up over time. |
Jemma
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Posted: Tue Nov 28, 2006 | 01:35 AM
This is so goddamn funny.
i work at Starbucks, Coffees cost "so much" because we pay $1.28 per pound of beans to coffee farmers.
and as for Starbucks being jewish? LMAO.
your friend was probably sacked because she was wearing this pentagram yes...but because you're not permitted to wear ANY jewlery, not even ear or nose studs.
and the logo is based on a sixteenth century norse woodcut of a two tailed mermaid to link with the name "starbucks" Which started off as "Starbo" after researching the name of the century mining camps on mount rainer (which is the mountin that can be seen from the waterside in seattle..where the first starbucks was opened). It became Starbucks, linking it to the name of the first mate in moby dick, the name evokes the romance of the high seas and the seafaring tradtion of the early coffee traders. |
Tom
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Posted: Thu Dec 07, 2006 | 03:00 PM
I personally love Starbucks. Yes, as a matter of fact I am addicted to their coffee. I must have a minimum of 2 cups a day or I will get a headache and will not be able to function. I think $1.50 for a cup of coffee at Starbucks is very reasonable. There are diners and restaurants that charge the same if not more for Folgers. |
kale
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Posted: Sun Apr 08, 2007 | 04:56 PM
haven't read this whole conversation, but yes, starbucks beans taste burnt. It's not just their espresso either. i am drinking a cup of coffee from their beans which someone left at my house, and it has that same dang burnt taste. no, coffee does not have to taste burnt to be strong. |
Martinez
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Posted: Sun Apr 15, 2007 | 04:36 AM
I don't know about you but I don't want to drink starbucks' coffee made of dying families, starving children, and suffering mothers. While it gets $4 for one cup of coffee, those that produce it get less than 3 cents. If Starbucks is charging a lot,its only humane to give to those that rightfully deserve it and are at the brink of death. |
Bill Simmons
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Posted: Wed Jan 23, 2008 | 12:05 PM
If you hate starbucks, check out this comic. I thought it was pretty funny:
http://www.calamitiesofnature.com/archive/43.html |
anonymous
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Posted: Wed Jan 27, 2010 | 04:54 PM
I'm a neo pagan Wiccan and I have a college degree. I make 80K a year and am in a fairly responsible position. I find that being Wiccan requires one to have a breadth of complex analytical thinking skills. It also requires a great deal of self discipline. Anyone who tells you different is ignorant to the subject matter and does not know what they are talking about. |
